About Rob

Hi, I'm Rob Oakeshott and I'm standing as an Independent in the electorate of Cowper.

I am 46 years young, married to Sara-Jane, and a father of four children under 12 - Sophie, Olivia, Angus and Ben. We live, and love, living 150 metres from our local school, Tacking Point Primary School at Lighthouse Beach.

I currently run a home-based consultancy business, where I contract to the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), and others, and deliver support services for a number of their programs throughout the Asia-Pacific region. In the past twelve months, I have done extensive work alongside the democratic elections in Myanmar (Burma), and on democracy-strengthening in Fiji.

I have a law and arts degree and I believe strongly in life-long learning. I am also studying post-graduate Medicine and Surgery at the University of Wollongong. This means I leave home at 3am and drive to Wollongong on Monday morning to do the compulsory sessions of anatomy (yes - cadavers...) and clinical skills, as well as to attend lectures. A lot of my learning is also done online in the car listening to lectures as I travel up and down the Pacific Highway early in the morning and late at night mid-week.

In 2014, I wrote an autobiography on my time in politics titled "The Independent Member for Lyne".

Prior to this I was the Federal MP for Lyne from 2008-2013, and the State MP for Port Macquarie from 1996-2008. During this time, along with many in the community, we achieved a lot. Included are returning Port Macquarie Hospital to the public network, returning Sea Acres Nature Reserve Centre to the public network, over $1 billion into a Regional Hospital and Health Fund - of which Kempsey and Port Macquarie received $180 million for major upgrades, supporting the re-location of Charles Sturt University to Port Macquarie, and providing over $20 million for the further development and expansion of the University of NSW, University of Newcastle, and North Coast Institute of TAFE facilities in Port Macquarie. As well, in 2010, $19 million was allocated for upgrades to Taree, Port Macquarie and Kempsey airports, $80 million was allocated for the completion of the Oxley Highway connecting the Pacific Highway to Gordon Street, and funding for the fast-tracking of Pacific Highway works from Port Macquarie through to Kempsey.

These are just some of the examples of works completed, and I am now very keen to continue this work across the entire region from Coffs Harbour, Nambucca, Bellingen, Kempsey and the Macleay, and continuing to work closely with Port Macquarie.

I am excited about what we may achieve in the 45th Parliament, and I invite you to join in building a great home, and nation, for all of us.